Cloth-cutter.



1- B. EDWARDS.

CLOTH CUTTER.

APPLICATION man MAILB, 1915.

Patented July 18, 1916.

3 SHEETS SHEET I.

H 2% J0 y f TNEN BRRIS PEYSRS 60.. PNDYD-LIYHQ. WASHING TIJN. D. C I

J. B. EDWARDS.

CLOTH CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8, 1915.

Patent ed Jul 18, 1916.

3 snzns susn 2;

f2? 4a 1% 5 %1% Z 0 /35 512, I 45" L l: .29 '2:

I 1 ms Mom": rni'zns canrnmmm, wunmamm n c.

, J. B, EDWARDS.

' CLOTH CUTTER.

APPLICATION FILED MB. 8, HHS.

Patented July 18, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

v I Ill/4 v *Z 46 4 f5 45 w I F/Wlef. Z9 W w g5 lhfle? 7.

ad/A, I {KW/Z fmdg v To all whom it may concern.

UNITED STATES PATENT nron.

JOHN B. nnwAnns, or'nEw- YonK,-1\T. Y.

CLQTH-GUTTER.

, Be it known that I, J HN B. EDWARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at'New York city, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cloth-Cutters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification. V

This invention'relates to cloth cutters of the class in which a motor driven circular cutter disk is mounted on a platform or base to be advanced by hand during the cutting operation.

One object of the present invention is to prevent the fingers of the operator from being cut by contact with the circular blade, which often occurs with the cutters now generally in use. I p 7 Another object is to provide improved means for sharpening the knife when the cutter is not being used for cutting. cloth, and in order to insure against injury to the operator. while the sharpening is being effected, I provide means for automatically locking the machine againstbeing advanced along the cloth during the sharpening operation. 1

A further object is to provide meansfor steadyingthe machine with the left hand as it is being advanced along the cloth with the right hand in the usual manner, and for keeping the cloth from waving. I

Considerable use will necessarily wear down'the circular cutting blade and; after a while the space between the cutting edge and the base or platform of the machine will become so great that the cloth will not be properly in prior machines to then discard the knife and substitute a new one.

- It is also the object ofthis invention toavoid the necessity of throwing away the 01d knife when worn down as described, by providing means for taking up the space be tween-the cutting edge and base of the ma- 7 chine and presenting the cloth to the worn blade so that the cutting will be accomplishedas effectively as by a new "blade.

The invention will be first hereinafter. de scribed in connection with the accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of this specification, and then more specifically defined in the claims at the end of the description..

In the accompanying drawings, wherein line 0000 of Fig. 12.

cut, and it has been necessary and supports on its upper end a casings Fig. 11,said blade is formed with [pinion 6 which meshesw'ith a-beveled pinslot 12 in its side. 7 member 11 there is. arranged a block 13.

with my invention, the same being shown in position for sharpening or grinding the blade. 7 Fig. 2 is adetailed side view of blade Specification of Letters Patent. Patented July 18, 1916. Application filed March 8, 1915. Serial No. 13,025.

and guard showingthe normal overlapping position. of the latter when the machine is in use for cutting cloth. Fig. 3 is a detailed side v ew of the adjustable block for taking up wearon the blade. 7 Fig. 4 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 5 is a'front elevation of the cutting machine, the parts being inthe same positions as in Fig.. 1. Fig. 6 is an internal plan'view of the motor .casingwith' the motor removed, showing more particu larly the sliding operating member for ,de;

pressing the grinders into position tocon- ,tact the blade. "viewlof said operating member. Fig. Sis

Fig. 7 is a detailed plan a planview of the base or platform of the machine. Fig. 91s a detailed side view of the knifefguard. Fig. 10: is afront edge view of the same. ..Fig .=11 is a broken front elevation of the lower part of'the" machine, showing more particularly the driving connection between the motor shaft and "circular knife. 'Fig. 12 is a detailed view of the grinder, partly in section. Fig. 13 is an end grinders,and Fig. '14 is a section on the v drawings, 1 designates thebase or platform of themachine, which is fiat on the bottom and curved at the edge in order to guide the cloth up over'the same during the cutting operation." The circular blade orJknife 2 is mounted on one side of a standard 3 which'rises from the base? 1 or theusual electric motor (not shown). As shown in Fig; 1, the blade maybe mounted on ball-bearings 5, and as best illustrated in a beveled Referring to th ion7'onth'e motor shaft;8.[' I 'Extending'rearwardly from. a point just below the casing l TlS'fi handle 9 having a collar 10. Below the handle, that is, below theportion thereof which extends under the casing 4:, there is a tubular member 11, angular in cross section and having a horizontal Within said tubular 85 view of one of the holding devices for the pending on the outside of the tubular member 11 and supporting an arcua'te guard. 16 which lies adjacent the beveled edge or face of the blade. When the machine is, beingv used for cutting cloth, the guard is arranged as shown 1n Fig. 2, so as to overlie the cutting edge of the blade and thus prevent the fingers of the operator from coming in contact with said edge. When the guard is in this positoin, the block 13 is advanced owing to the spring 14. The guard, however, may be moved rearwardly, so as to expose the cutting edge of the blade for grinding the same, as will be hereinafter explained, by means of a rearwardly projecting arm 17 attached to the bracket and having a knob 18 on its end adapted to engage the collar 10 on the handle for holding the guard in its retracted position, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The sharpener or' grinder comprises a pair of facing stoneso-r blocks of grinding material 19, and 20 mounted on a. swinging frame 21 pivoted to the front end of the machine preferably near the bottom of the -casing4. The frame 21 is pivoted in such a manner as .to swing in a vertical plane so as to bring the grinding stones 19 and 20 on either side of the knife during thegrinding operation. The grinder is normally held away from the blade, by a spring 22 fastened at one end .to the casing 4 above the pivot of the grinder, and secured at its other end to aninclined lever 23 rigidly attached to the frame 21'. In Fig. 1 the grinder is shown in operative position engaging the blade, as when the arm 23 is pressed down by the operator. For depressing thegrinder and bringing it in position for sharpening the knife, I provide a sliding member 24, see Figs. 1, 6 and '7. Thissliding member passes through the bottom of the casing 4 and has a loop 25 passing around the driving shaft 8. One end of this member projects from the rear of the casing4 and is provided with a thumb piece 26 for operating the same. The other end of the member 24- projects fromthe front ofthe casing 4 and is forked, as at 27, to engage the lever arm 23. It is obvious that when the member 24 is pushed forward by placing the thumb on the end piece 26, the forked .end 27 will ride along the inclined portion of the lever arm 23 and depress the frame 21- carrying the grinder. It will also be noted that before the grinding stones-can come in contact with .the edge of the knife for sharpening the same, the guard 16 must be withdrawn or moved rearwardly to the position shown in Fig. 1. In other words, when the guard is in its advanced position, as illustrated in Fig. 2, which position it occupies when the cutting machine is in operation, it is impossible to sharpen the blade, and in order .to perform the sharpening operation it is necessary for the operator to withdraw the guard by a separate actlon whlch Wlll serve .to notify him that theblade is exposed.

As a further precaution against cutting .the fingers while the guard is withdrawn and the grinder is in operative position, I provide a pivoted device on the lower end of the guard for automatically locking the machine against movement along the cloth while the blade is being sharpened. As best illustrated in Figs. 1, 9 and 10, said device is pivoted at 28 and has a downwardly inclined pointed arm or pin29, and an upwardly inclined operatingarm 30, a portion of which is curved substantially as shown. The locking device is normally held with the point of the pin 29 out of contact with the cloth by means of a spring 31 fastened atone end'to the guard above the pivot 28, and secured at its other end to the arm 30. A depending part 32, which is rigidly fastened to the frame 21 of the sharpener, extendsinto the path of the curved portion of the arm 30, so that when the sharpener is depressed into operating position, said part 32 will act upon the arm to throw the pin 29 down into engagement with the cloth and thus prevent the machine from moving along the cloth and the cutting operation being continued until after the sharpening has been finished and the grinder permitted to to properly steady the device with the single 1 hand which grips the handle, and to prevent the cloth from working up in waves. I have,

therefore, provided meansWherby the other hand mayalso be used to assist in steadying the machine in operation. For this purpose, I have illustrated two finger pieces 33 on the side of the machine which faces the operator, but it will be understood that more or less of these finger pieces: may be used if desired. Each of the finger pieces-33 consists of a vertical extensible portion 34 and a horizontal part 35 to receive the finger.

The extensible portion 34 may be made in two pieces overlapping and connected adjustably to each other by a thumb screw 36 fastened to one piece and passed through a slot 37 in the other piece. 'The portion 34 preferably extends up into .a tubular casing 38 and is provided with a head 39 on its upper end, below which head a coiled spring at one side, as at 45, see Figs. 12 and 13. A

small screw 45 is passed through the projecting portion 45 of the washer 44 and engages the side of the frame 21 for holding the stone firmly against the inner face of the frame. One stone, 20, is arranged obliquely with respect to the frame 21, for

the purpose of grinding the beveled face of the cutting edge of the blade, while the other stone, 19, preferably has its working face arranged parallel to the sides of the frame so that it may engage the flat face of the cutting edge of the blade and remove any bur Which may be formed by grinding the beveled face of said cutting edge.

In order to avoid the necessity of discarding an old blade when it has become worn down so as not to properly engage the cloth; as it passes over the base 1, I have provided an adjustable block46, see Figs. 1,3 and 4.

This block is mounted on the base in ad-" vance of the cutting edge of the knife and has its front edge curved, as at 47, for guiding the cloth over said block to the knife. The front end of this block is secured to the base by two screws 48, one engaging each of a pair of ears on the sides of the block near its front end. The rear end of the block is adjustable vertically on the base 49 by means of a screw 50 threaded in the block and having its lower end seated in a smooth socket in the base 1. By loosening the front screws 48, and turning the screw 50 inward, the rear end of the block 46 will be raised so as to bring the cloth up against the cutting edge of the knife. After the desired adjustment of the plate 46 has beenattained, the screws 48 may be tightened, whereupon the block 46 will be held rigidly in position.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is new. and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a cloth cutter of the character described, the combination with a circular blade, of an arcuate guard for the edge of the blade, resilient means for normally holding the guard in position to protect the edge of the blade, a finger piece for moving said guard away from the cutting edge, and

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents,

means on the endof said finger piece for locking the guard in its restricted position.

2. In a cloth cutter of the character de-' scribed, the combination with a circular blade, of a handle, a collar on the handle, an arcuateguardfor the edge of the blade, resilient means for normally holding the guard in a position to protect the cutting.

edge, and an. arm attached to the guard and having aknob on its end to engage the collar on'the handle for holding the guard in retracted position.

3. In a cloth cutter of the character described, the combination with a circular blade, of an arcuate guard for protecting the edge of the blade, a stationary tubular casing having a horizontal slot, a block fitted to slide in said casing and connected to the guard, a spring in the casing engaglng the block for normally holding the guard in position to protect the cutting edge, and an arm for retracting theguard.

4. In a cloth cutter of the character de-.

scribed, the combination with a circular blade, of a, grinder movable to and from the edge of the blade, and'means for'automatically locking the machine from cutting cloth.

while'the grinder is in engagement with the cuttingedge;

5. In a cloth cutter of the character described, the combination with a circular blade, of a guard for protecting the cutting edge, a grinder movable into and out of engagement with said cutting edge, and means mounted on the guard for automatically locking the machine against cutting cloth when the grinder is in engagement with the cutting edge. a

6. In a cloth cutter ofthe characterdescribed, the combination with a circular blade, of a guard for protecting the cutting edge, a locking member pivoted on the guard and having a pointed arm adapted to engage the cloth and prevent movement of the cutter along the same, means'for normally holding the locking device in position where the pointed arm will beout of engagement with the cloth, a grinder movable into and out of engagement with the cutting edge, and means on the grinderfor automatically moving the locking device to bring the pointed arm into engagement with the cloth when the grinder is moved into engagement with the cutting edge.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two attesting witnesses.-

' JOHN B. EDWARDS. Witnesses:

- WM. M. CHRISTIE, y A. Honenn.

Washington, D. 0. 

